Pupil Premium

What Is The Pupil Premium?

The Pupil Premium is additional funding to help narrow the attainment gap between children eligible for FSM, LAC, E6, and their non-disadvantaged peers.

This year, we have 22% of our key stage 3 and 4 cohort who qualify for Pupil Premium, and in 2019 the allocation is £344,625. This money will be used to help disadvantaged pupils overcome any barriers to their learning, and to ensure they reach their full potential.

What Are the Barriers To Learning?

As a school, we avoid stereotyping our pupils who qualify for Pupil Premium funding, and recognise that they are a diverse group who face different barriers, or even none at all. However, some of our disadvantaged pupils experience:

Lower attainment than their non-disadvantaged peers at key stages 1 and 2,

Less than expected progress in some subjects in Years 8, 9 and 10,

Lower attendance rates in the primary sector,

Lack of family finances, resulting in an inability to support the individual’s talents and skills,

Low aspirations,

A selective system which filters a larger proportion of FSM students to non-selective schools,

Less support at home for self-study,

No quiet places at home to study,

Less developed oracy skills, particularly in formal situations,

A lack of revision material for Year 10 and Year 11 pupils,

Limited access to books, ICT and resources to support out of school learning.

At Westlands, we regularly track pupils’ data to identify any evidence of underachievement, (not just low attaining students), and respond to pupils’ individual needs rapidly. We aim to make creative, evidence-based decisions that are adapted throughout the academic year, and which include a wide range of interventions.